Trunk angle construction



Dec. 6, 1938. J. RITTER, JR

'TRUNK ANGLE CONSTRUCTION original Filed oct.. 18, 1955 INVENTOR. d@

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec, 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE TRUNK ANGLE CONSTRUCTIGN Julius Ritter, Jr., Racine, Wis., assignor to Hartmann Trunk Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in trunk angle constructions.

In wardrobe trunks the edges of each of the doors and cover members are provided with angled strips which are inwardly extending at right angles to the plane of the door or cover so as to overlap and cooperate with an edge portion of a fixed wall adjacent said door or cover, in the natureof a valance. Said angled strips are of substantially right angular form in trans Verse section and a strip is secured to and about a door or cover edge by a row of tacks extending through one leg of the strip and into the stock of the door, and in some instances by spaced rivets. There is, however, in the constructions in common use, which are formed of metal, no positive anchorage for the other overhanging leg of the angled strip. During usage the said strips may be bent outwardly and also undue 20 strain is imposed on the strip securing means,

which only engage a side of a strip.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to overcome the above objections by providing trunk angle strips and anchoring 25 means therefor by which an angle strip of flexible material is securely held in position and is braced and reenforced against undesired outward deiiection.

A further object of the invention is to provide 30 a trunk angle strip in which both legs are anchored to the door or cover and the overhanging portion of the strip is furthermore anchored to the other portion of the strip and is held against undesired outward flexing or bending.

35 A further object of the invention is to provide, in a trunk angle construction, unitary means for anchoring, reenforcing, and bracing the overhanging portion of the strip, and for securing both legs of the strip to the trunk element car- 40 rying the same.

Edge portions of trunk doors and covers usually carry on the inner face reenforcing strips. A further specic object of the present invention is to provide securing and anchoring means for 45 trunk angle strips which also extend through said inner face reeniorcing strips and aid in the attachment of the same, and brace and reenforce said strips.

It has been the practice heretofore to form 50 trunk door and cover angled strips of metal. Due to the fact that these strips are exposed and are subjected to bumps and knocks, the metal thereof will become dented and marred. An important aspect of the present invention is the 55 elimination of this objection by forming the strips of material other than metal. For this purpose materials such as vulcanized fiber and Bakelite eliminate the objection of being easily susceptible of marring and these materials can also be iinished Very attractively. However, the 5 former means employed for securing trunk angle strips would preclude the use of angle strips flexed to shape from brous material, for instance, as the overhanging sides of the strips would have an inherent tendency to flex or iiatten out and too great a strain would be imposed on the securing means for the strips.

Hence, another object of the invention is to provide a trunk angle strip construction which will permit the use of a greater range of materials for the strips because of the anchoring and securing means employed `which relieves strain on the tack securing means and braces the overhanging portion of a strip against outward flexure.

As the present invention is adapted for use on the free edge of a swinging door or cover on a wardrobe trunk and as the overhanging edge of the improved angle strip. must overlap and co' operate with an adjacent edge portion of a fixed Wall of a container or trunk, it will be evident that the overhanging portion of the strip and the adjacent portion of the fixed wall must carry complementary latching and locking xtures and dowels, and for the proper usage of the trunk these complementary fixtures must always meet and engage with one another. Because of this fact it has heretofore been the practice to form the angled corner strips of4 a trunk of metal, because the metal strips will maintain their original angular form and will withstand the severe usage and knocks to which the exterior of a trunk is subjected. Metal strips have the objections, however, of becoming readily dented so as to impair the exterior appearance of the trunk. The present invention overcomes the last-mentioned difliculty and further provides a corner nishing strip which is somewhat lighter than that used heretofore and which has more artistic values and which can be made to harmonize with the types of covering materials now popular on trunk walls.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a trunk angle construction which is very simple and durable, which is neat and attractive in appearance, which is inexpensive, and which is well adapted for the purposes set forth.

With the above and. other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved trunk angle construction, and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereoi'.

This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 45,527, filed October 18, 1935.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wardrobe trunk in which the edge portions of the doors and covers are arranged with the improved angle strip construction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view indicated on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing the improved construction;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the inner face of an edge portion of a trunk door showing the application of an angle strip thereto, a portion of the lining or inner facing material being broken away;

Fig. 4 is a partially disrupted view of the showing in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of the angle construction as applied to a door edge.

Although the improved angle construction is shown and described herein as being applied to the doors and cover of a Wardrobe trunk, it should be understood that it is not the intent to limit the scope of the invention, since the novel features are obviously more generally applicable and may be used on the edges of the closure sections and covers of various types of containers, luggage carriers, and housings. Also, although it has been found that the construction is particularly advantageous when used in connection with vulcanized fiber angle strips, and this arrangement will be described by Way of illustration, it is the intent that said angle strips may be formed of other materials of a similar nature which have an inherent tendency to straighten out after having been bent into a predetermined form.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it will appear that a wardrobe trunk is indicated by the numeral 8, and doors 9 and II) control access to the interior Wardrobe and drawer sections of the trunk. These doors cooperate with adjacent fixed walls of the trunk and certain edge portions thereof engage opposite edge portions of a wall II. Also, there is a cover or lid member I2 adapted to engage edge portions of certain of the trunk walls. In a wardrobe trunk or container of the class under consideration all of the exterior corner edges are covered and protected by angled strips. The construction and anchoring and securing arrangement of certain of these angled strips is the subject of the present invention, and the strips of this character are applied along certain edges of the doors and cover. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the angled strips embodying the invention are indicated by the numeral I3. The construction and mounting of one of the angle strips I3 will be explained in detail.

From Figs. 2 and 5 it will be observed that a door 9 is formed of superimposed veneer layers I4 exteriorly covered by suitable sheet material I5. Along an edge of the door against the inner veneer layer is a reenforcing strip I6. The end edge of the door is rounded, as at I1. 'Ihe angled strip I3 is applied along said end or reenforeed, rounded edge, and the strip is bent into right angular form in transverse section, save for its medial portion which is rounded to follow the rounded edge II of the door. One leg of the angledA strip is applied against the outer face of the edge portion of the door, and the other leg I3 overhangs or projects beyond the inner face of the door and at right angles to the plane of the rst leg.

The angle strip is secured in position by a row of tacks I8 arranged longitudinally of the strip and extending through the same and the layers I4 of the door. Also, inwardly of the row of tacks there are spaced rivets I9 which extend through the strip I3, through the veneer layers I4, and also through the edge reenforcing strip I6. The strip I6 is additionally held to the veneer layers by tacks 20. v

It is obvious that with the construction thus far described, while the first leg of the angle strip is secured in place, no positive anchorage is provided for the projecting leg I3. This is objectionable because strains and stresses are imposed on said latter leg during usage, and the difliculties are more pronounced if the strip I3 is formed of fiber, as contemplated in the present invention. If the strip is of fiber or other similar material, after being bent to desired form it retains an inherent tendency to flatten or straighten out, and this action might impose strain on the securing means I8 and I9 and loosen the same.

To obviate the above difficulty, anchoring elements are provided for the leg I3. Said elements are inserted at spaced intervals laterally alined with the rivets I9. Each of said elements is metallic and comprises a relatively wide flat shank or plate portion 2I lodged in a recess 22 therefor in the inner face of a portion of the reenforcing strip I6, and extending through a slot 23 in the leg I3', and an elongated head or outer flange 24 extending away from the shank 2| in the direction of the overhang of the leg I3 and engaging an outer face portion of the said leg I3.

In applying an angle strip I3 which is usually preformed, the first leg thereof is secured as previously described. The elements 2 I-24 are then inserted through the slots 23 and the strip is directed about the curved door edge II. During this action a plate 2I Would fulcrum on the end edge of the recess 22. Inasmuch as the stock of the strip I6 is relatively soft, metal discs or washers 25 are disposed within the recess 22 adjacent its outer edge. The plate 2| therefore engages or fulcrums on said discs 25, and does not cut into the wood. Ultimately the plate will force said discs into the wood, as in Fig. 2. Subsequently the leg I3 of the strip is anchored in right angular form and under tension. For this purpose the inner end of a plate 2l has an aperture 26 and the projecting end of the adjacent rivet I 9 is passed through said aperture and then its extremity is headed or burred, as at 2l'.

It will thus be seen that the inner ends of all of the plates 2I are joined with the inner ends of the adjacent rivets I9, with each element exerting a force at right angles to one-another and applied against the legs of the angle strip to hold it in right angular form. The elements 2I-2I5 reenforce the leg I3 against outward forces and against the Straightening-out tendencies and materially lessen the strain on the securing tacks I8. The rivets I9 and elements 2 I-2l because of being connected at their inner ends, serve to anchor each other. In addition these elements brace and reenforce the edge strip I6.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the improved trunk angle strips, because of being formed of fibrous materials, are especially suited for luggage constructions in line with the modern trend. It is desirable to provide luggage which will be as light as possible without sacricing qualities of strength and durability, and said fibrous material strips materially decrease the weight of the luggage as compared with luggage employing the former metallic corner strips. Also the improved strips can be finished, decorated or colored in a highly attractive manner so as to blend with the various forms of decorative covering materials now used on the exterior walls of luggage. The inherent tendency of the shaped corner strips to straighten out is eiciently overcome in the present invention by the specic form of securing means utilized for anchoring the overhanging legs of said strips, and it will be apparent that the anchoring means are provided with large head portions extending in the direction of the free edge of the overhang of each strip, which head portions cover a substantial area of the overhanging portion of the strip and exert an inwardly directed force and bracing effect to overcome the inherent straightening tendency of the strip. By virtue of this arrangement the attractiveness of the luggage is enhanced, and its utility and eiliciency is increased. The strips may carry the necessary complementary dowels and fastening hardware, and because of the securement of the strips, the same will never ilex out of position so as to prevent meeting and cooperation of the complementary dowels and hardware elements. The construction is furthermore simple, pactical, and novel, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In combination with a swingable container wall, an angular non-metallic finishing corner strip along a free edge portion of said wall, one portion of the strip being atly against an outer face portion of the wall and another portion of the strip extending beyond the edge of the wall and at an inwardly directed angle, the latter portion of the strip having an inherent tendency to straighten into the plane of the other portion of the strip, securing means between the rst portion of the strip and the wall, a separate securing member having its shank portion extended through the latter portion of the strip and secured to the wall, and a relatively large head on the outer end of said shank overlying a portion of the strip and directed toward the free edge of the latter portion of the strip and engaging the same in a manner to overcome the straightening tendency thereof.

2. In a container having a closure member, a liber, right angular strip applied to an edge of the closure member with one leg of the strip against a face portion of the closure member and with the other leg of the strip having a free edge extending beyond and overhanging the edge of the closure member at a right angle to the plane of the face of said closure member, the latter leg of the strip having an inherent tendency to straighten into the plane of the other leg of the strip and also having a slot therein, means for securing the first leg of the strip to the closure member, and means for securing the other leg of the strip to the closure member and in a manner to overcome the straightening tendency thereof, said latter means comprising a metallic fastening element having a, Wide flat shank portion extended through the slot in said leg and also having on its outer end a relatively long ilange extending substantially the width of and at right angles to the shank and only toward the free edge of said leg of the strip firmly engaging the outer surface of said free edge.

JULIUS RITTER, JR. 

